Feds Charge 19 in $15M Cyber-Scam

A federal grand jury in Dallas accused 19 people of taking part in a scheme to use shell companies to defraud companies ranging from AT&T to Wells Fargo.

A federal grand jury in Dallasindicted 19 people Jan. 8 in a complex scheme that
allegedly used a series of shell companies to defraud
banks, telecommunications providers and others out of $15
million.

The 19 defendants were each charged with
conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Fifteen of the defendants are
also charged with fraud related to electronic mail and aiding and
abetting, and some also face charges of obstruction. The charges
supersede an indictment from September that charged nine of the
defendants in the conspiracy.

According to the indictment,
the defendants conspired from March 2003 through July 2009 to defraud
telecommunications companies such as AT&T and Verizon as well
as various financial institutions,
utility companies, air conditioning companies, Website developers and
insurance companies using shell companies created to hide the true
identity of the owners. The defendants are also accused of using
multiple fake identities for the same purpose.

With
the shell companies as a cover, the defendants allegedly
purchased office space, computer and telecommunications equipment,
power generators and other goods and services, according to the
indictment.

If
convicted, the defendants face decades in prison. Among those indicted
is Matthew Simpson, who ran a Dallas ISP known as Core IP Networks.
Simpson declared his innocence in a note posted to Google Sites after the FBI raided his offices last April.